COLUMBIA — With two outstanding warrants and 15 arrests in the last four years, wanted suspect Koda Coats was found Saturday evening hiding on the floorboard of a vehicle that was stopped by Columbia police after a short pursuit.
Coats was arrested for an active Probation and Parole Warrant that was issued on Nov. 30. As of 2:30 p.m. Monday, he was being held without bond in the Boone County Jail.
Coats, 21, has been directly tied to at least three high-profile shootings. Previous charges include first-degree assault, armed criminal action, first-degree robbery and two felony counts of discharging a firearm.
After Coats failed to report to his probation officer on Nov. 28, the Police Department’s now-disbanded Violent Crimes Task Force was charged with finding him.
On Saturday, Columbia police received a tip that gave a possible location for Coats. At around 5:30 p.m., officers observed a vehicle associated with the address given by the caller and attempted to stop it, according to a police news release.
After a short pursuit, the vehicle stopped on its own. Coats was found on the passenger front floorboard attempting to conceal himself from police, the release said.
Officers also arrested Deangelo Grant, the driver of the vehicle, for resisting arrest and failure to yield to an emergency vehicle. He was released later that day on a $5,000 bond.